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French referee Chapron kicks out at Nantes player before sending him off

Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron has been suspended after being caught kicking out at Diego Carlos and then sending off the Nantes player following an apparently accidental collision between the pair during their clash with Paris St-Germain.

Chapron aimed a kick at the Nantes defender while on the floor after the pair accidentally collided in added time at the Stade de la Beaujoire. Carlos was shown a second yellow card, apparently for dissent, a decision that left the hosts baffled. The player's dismissal was overturned on Monday. Chapron had been due to take charge of Wednesday's Ligue 1 game between Angers and Troyes, but will now sit out "until further notice," a Referees' Technical Directorate (DTA) statement confirmed on Monday. The decision was made after a phone call between DTA director Pascal Garibian and the president of the Federal Refereeing Commission (CFA), Eric Borghini. According to L'Equipe, Chapron, 45, has sent a report to the football authorities and acknowledged he made a mistake in showing Carlos a second yellow card in added time at the end of Nantes' 1-0 defeat.

In a statement released via French media on Monday, Chapron apologised to Carlos for his actions, writing: "This maladroit gesture was inappropriate. As a result, I would like to present my apologies to Diego Carlos. A complementary report has been sent to the disciplinary commission so that the booking received by the FC Nantes player be rescinded, as the images showed me his gesture did not seem voluntary. During the match, I collided with Diego Carlos. At the moment of impact, I had a very sharp pain on a recent injury. It was bad reflex action that meant I stuck my leg out at the player". Garibian criticized Chapron's "loss of control" in the incident. "His action was unacceptable," Garibian told L'Equipe. "I will not say more than that; it is for the LFP disciplinary commission to decide on. It was a bad reaction. He lost control of his emotions in the context of the fall. As a provisional measure, he will not be available to take charge of matches until the end of the [disciplinary] process." French referees organisation SAFE said it would stand with Chapron through the proceedings but acknowledged his fault in the incident. "Tony Chapron reacted badly. Even if he is not an aggressive character, his gesture was inappropriate," a statement said. "He has apologized to Mr. Diego Carlos Santos Silva. He has also addressed the second booking in an updated report and explained that the dismissal should not stand. Referees must know how to handle their responsibilities on the pitch in highly pressurized situations but also away from the pitch if they realize that they handled an incident poorly".